Dog Eat Dog
by golden chain
Summary: It's Jimmy's second year at Bullworth. He is still the king, but now he must deal with a new romance, and old adversary, and a psychotic girlfriend, as well as tensions from his own gang. COMPLETE
1. The new girl

Jimmy's fist collided solidly with the face of the new kid, hitting him square in the nose and bursting it like a ripe tomato. The kid fell to the varnished floor of the lobby, his books scattered around him, his glasses askew, blood staning the front of his uniform shirt.

"The name's Jimmy Hopkins. You hear me? Jimmy Hopkins."

Jimmy's crew, composed of some mixed Greasers and Bullies, giggled. Jimmy felt his stomach burn. He hadn't wanted to to do this, but he didn't have a choice. The kid walked into him, didn't even say anything. Acted like he wasn't even there. Jimmy had to hit him. It was the only way to save face.

"Way to go, Jim." Johnny Vincent said from behind him. Jimmy hated Johnny. He only kept Johnny in his crew because Johnny had cvontrol of the Greasers, which meant Jimmy had control of the Greasers. The Greasers were assholes. Not real smart, but handy with their fists. And still, they were better than Preppies.

"You hear me? Jimmy Hopkins. You remember my name." Jimmy hissed at the shocked kid, who's face was now a bloody mess.

"Hey!"

The girl's voice rang out clear in the hall. Jimmy half-turned to see a girl running over. She was dressed in Bullworth clothes. She must have been a new kid too, because Jimmy had never seen her around before. Her hair was a long, flowing blond and her eyes were dark blue. Jimmy could see them clearly even though he was half-way across the lobby. She didn't look she belonged anywhere. She wasn't a jock, a prep, a nerd, or a grease. She was just...herself.

Sort of like him.

She stopped short and those pretty blue eyes of her shifted from the bloody new kid of the floor and Jimmy.

"What did you do?"

She sounded angry. Jimmy felt a little taken aback. She was a new girl, but she obviously didn't know who he was. How could she not? He was Jimmy Hopkins, king of the shitty school.

"I punched him." He snapped.

"Why?"

"He got in my way. No one gets in my way."

"Who do you think you are?" She spat.

Jimmy could feel his face growing hot and his fists clenched at his sides.

"I'm Jimmy Hopkins."

"So?" She snorted.

She was really pissing him off here.

"That just gives you the right to go around punching people smaller than you?"

Jimmy's anger evaporated and instantly turned to shame. She was right. He'd always sworn to be different, to protect the weak. Now he was turning into one of them.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"That's none of your business."

Jimmy's anger resurfaced.

"Well, none of this is your business, so why don't you just get out of here?"

"That's my brother."

Poof. The anger was gone and the shame was back.

"I'm...I'm sorry." He said.

He could almost feel his boys stiffen behind him. Their leader had just pussed out. Jimmy felt angry at himself now.

"It's a bit late, isn't it?"

She bent down to help her brother up. Jimmy watched her do it, feeling guilty. The poor kid looked about thirteen...

He moved forward and picked up his books.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, holding them out.

The boy took them nervously. Jimmy handed him a kleenex he took from his pocket. The kid took it and ran off. The first bell had just rung.

"Don't think that makes it alright." The girl snapped.

"What's your name?" He asked again.

For a moment, he thought she wouldn't answer. Then, she said, in a low voice:

"Cecellia."

Then she was gone. Jimmy watched her walk away, her books under her arm. Jimmy watched her, oblivious to the snickers of his crew.

James Hopkins had fallen in love.


	2. Advice from Pete

"I heard you punched out a new kid."

They were in English class, watching Mr. Galloway script words on the blackboard. He was obviously half in the bag. English class was a good class to talk in because Galloway was half-deaf and usually to tipsy or hung over to care.

"Yes, Pete. I did."

Peter Kowalski sat next to Jimmy in English class. And in every other class. Jimmy used to really hate the way Pete was always whining, but they'd grown closer ever since Jimmy kicked Gary Smith's head in and become the school's king. He wasn't tough enough to be in Jimmy's crew, but they hung out together whenever they could. Jimmy liked talking to Pete. It was like having a shrink.

"Why?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Was it?"  
"Jesus, Pete. Leave me alone, will you?"

"There's something you're not telling me." Pete said teasingly, sitting back in his chair.

"He had a sister." Jimmy said reluctantly.

"So? Lots of people have sisters...wait," Pete said, suddenly catching on. "You're not...into her, are you?"

"No! I just met her today. And she's a bitch."

"Come on, Jimmy. Admit it."

"Okay, maybe."

"Have you forgotten you're in a relationship?"

Jimmy groaned aloud. Zoe Taylor. Ex-Townie and mean girl extraordinaire. She and Jimmy had been together a few months now. She was fun for awhile, hot, tough as nails, willing to do anything in bed, but now he was bored with her. All she wanted to do was get stoned and egg the boy's dorm.

"No, but thank you for reminding me." Jimmy said.

"You can't ditch Zoe, dude. She'll crucify you."

Jimmy rubbed his close-cropped hair nervously. Pete had a point there. Jimmy was known as a pretty tough guy, but Zoe could do things he wouldn't even dream about. And she was the jealous type. One day Lola Lombardi had asked Jimmy for a pencil and Zoe had shattered her jaw with one punch.  
"I can handle her."

Pete chuckled and turned back to Mr. Galloway, who was struggling to find his glasses even through they were on his head.

"No," He said. "I don't think you can."


	3. Zoe

Jimmy left English feeling dazed. Pete was right. If he left Zoe, There would be trouble. Big time. He sighed heavily and headed to his locker. On the way he saw Russell badgering Melvin O'Connor. Jimmy shot him a look and Russell immeadiately stopped. Russell was a good guy. A real moron, but always there for you. He just had to be kept in line sometimes.

Jimmy made his way to his locker. Just as he was unlocking it two hands landed on his shoulders. He knew it was Zoe. She did this same thing every day.

"Guess who?" She asked.

Jimmy turned. Zoe was there alright. She was wearing a sleeveless orange shirt and jeans. She was probably the only student who didn't wear the niform. Even Jimmy had broken down and worn it after a while. But she never did, and no one gave her any trouble about it. There were probably all afraid of her.

As soon as Jimmy had completed his turn she had thrust her tongue into his mouth. Jimmy tried to scramble away, but she held him in place.

"It's nice to see you too, Zoe." He said when she finally pulled away.

"I heard you decked some little pansy today. Good job." She said.

Did anyone not know? Jimmy thought.

"What class do you have next?" She asked.

"Art."

"Good. Let's blow it off and go to my room. I got some good dope."

Jimmy tried to hold in his sigh of frustration.

"I don't know, baby. I really need this credit..."

"Screw the credit." She said, and put her hand around his crotch.

"Jesus, Zoe, not here." Jimmy hissed, slapping her hand away.

Seth Kolbe, head Prefect, happened to be walking by.

"I saw that!" He yelled.

"Fuck you, Seth." Jimmy yelled back. For a moment Seth looked like he was going to say something, but then he saw Russell menacingly cracking his knuckles a few feet away. He kept walking.

"So anyway, let's go." Zoe said.

Jimmy could not even say anything this time. She was already dragging him down the hall, deaf to any of his protests.


	4. Q&A

Jimmy didn't get back to his own room until 11 O'Clock that night. He had to sneak past Mrs. Peabody to get out of the Girls's Dorm, and then past two prefects to get back to his own. He was sore and sweaty from all the sex he'd had to endure, his back and shoulders etched with scratch and bite marks. His mind was still a bit hazy from all the hash he'd smoked and he tripped over his own feet more than once as he walked back to his dorm.

The dorm was mercifully silent. No one in the common room or wandering the halls. Jimmy made his way to the room he shared with Petey, wondering if he had any uppers left. He used to take them before fights to sharpen himself up but didn't need them anymore. One may have helped this unbearable high he was feeling.

Pete was asleep and Jimmy didn't turn on the lights. He kicked off his shoes and didn't bother undressing. He just laid down his bed and tried to sleep. He couldn't. His mind was still haunted with visions of Cecellia.

He got up and left the room. He went to the common room and sat down on the couch, staring at the blank tv screen. Eventually he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see the boy he'd punched that morning, Cecellia's brother.

When the boy saw Jimmy, he gave a squeak of fear and tried to run down the hall.

"Wait." Jimmy barked.

The kid stopped in his tracks and truned slowly. Jimmy was shocked to see tears running down the boy's face.

"Please don't hurt me." He said softly.

Jimmy felt a pang of revulsion, directed at himself.

"I won't hurt you, I swear." Jimmy lifted his hands. "Come over here."

The kid came at sat down on the couch. Jimmy slowly sat down.

"What's your name?" Jimmy asked.

"Patrick." The kid responded, still sounding tearful.

"Patrick," Jimmy repeated. "I'm sorry I hit you, Patrick."

"It's okay." He said. "Jimmy."  
"How do you know my name?"

"Everyone knows your name. You're a hero around here."

"I wouldn't call myself a hero."

"Other people sure do."

"Yeah, well, things have a way of getting blown out of proportion. Anyway Patrick, do you think you could tell me about your sister?"

"Cece?"

"Yes."

"What do you want to know?"

"Uhhh," Jimmy considered. "Where are you guys from?"

"New Hampshire. Our dad's in the Army. He got stationed here."

"Why are you at Bullworth? This school's for nutcases and J.D.s"

"My dad thinks it's a great school."

Jimmy scoffed.

"Tell your dad to get informed. This school blows."

"I know." Patrick said.

"What flowers does your sister like?"

Patrick gave Jimmy a funny look.

"Why are you asking me these things?"

"I want to get to know your sister,"

"She'll never go with you."

Jimmy felt a little taken aback by this. "Why not?"

"One, she doesn't want a boyfriend, two, I don't think you scored points with her after what happened today, and three, you have a psychotic girlfriend."

"All good points, but I've pulled off harder things."

Patrick looked down.

"No, Jimmy. I don't think you have." He said, oddly echoing the words Pete had said to him just that morning.

And without another word, Patrick stood and walked back to his room, closing the door behind him.


	5. Arrangements

Jimmy's mind raced with everything Patrick had told him. Cecellia was on his mind more than ever now. He found himself repeating her name to himself, when he woke up, when he dressed (which got him some funny looks from Pete), in the shower, in front of the mirror as he shaved off what little stubble he had.

That morning he got up early than he normally would. He was desperate to avoid Zoe. He made his way to the cafeteria, a place he very rarely visisted.

He found Trevor Moore sitting alone at one of the tables, eating scrambled eggs Jimmy would not have touched if his life depended on it. Trevor was a real knowledgable student. He knew everyone's business.

"Trevor." He said sitting down. Trevor gave a short groan in reply without looking up.

"Trev, I need your help."

Trevor looked up, his eyes alight with malice.

"What services do you require?" He asked.

"I need to know something about a new student."

"Who?"

"Cecellia. I don't know her last name."

Trevor pushed away his plate and leaned in close to Jimmy.

"A student named Cecellia Morris joined a few days ago. Blond hair, blue eyes?"

"That's her."

"What do you want to know?"

"What's her first class?"

"That'll cost you five."

"What?"

"Five bucks. I provide a service here. It ain't free."

"Five bucks? Go fuck yourself." Jimmy hissed.

Trevor shrugged.

"Fine. It's your call."

Jimmy felt the sudden urge to smash Trevor's head in. Instead he shoved his hand into the pocket of his slacks and withdrew a five dollar bill.

"Here. Now start talkin' or I'll beat your face in."

Trevor pocketed the bill.

"Cecellia Morris's first class of the day is Science with Dr. Watts." He said.

Then he turned back to his plate and began to eat.

Jimmy left the cafeteria at full speed. He ran up to the bathroom, ignoring a prefect who told him not to run. In the bathroom, he washed his face and smoked a cigarette, which he only did when he was nervous. He waited for the bell to ring, hoping Zoe wouldn't come looking for him.

The bell rang. Jimmy waited another five minutes then ducked out of the bathroom, sneaking past Prefect Karl Branting on the way. He made it to the Science lab, took a deep breath, then knocked.

"Come in," Said Dr.Watts.

He opened the door. Heads snapped around to look. He saw Cecellia's eyes widen when she saw him.

"Yes?" Dr. Watts asked.

"Dr. Crabblesnitch wants to see Cecellia Morris right now." He said clearly.

"I'm going to have to see a note."

A note? Oh, shit! Jimmy reached into his pocket and extracted a receipt for a pair of boots he'd bought in town a few months ago. He walked up to the front desk and handed it over, praying to God that it would work. Dr. Watts examined it closely for a few moments.

"Everything seems in order." He said. "Ms.Morris, if you would accompany Mr.Hopkins."

Scowling, Cecellia stood up and walked towards the door. Jimmy followed, stuffing the note back into his pocket.

Outside the classroom, Cecellia started for Crabblesnitch's office, but Jimmy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait."

She turned.

"Leave me alone."

"You don't have to see Crabblesnitch. I just made that up."

Anger flickered across her beautiful face.

"Very funny." She hissed.

She started for the classroom door, but Jimmy stood in front of it.

"I just want to talk." He said.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Please! Look, I'm sorry about your brother. He forgave me. Why can't you?"

"Because I know what you are. Some big, stupid thug who thinks he's king of the world. You may have everyone else fooled, but not me. Get lost."

Jimmy felt blown away by this.

"Please, I just want to know you." He pleaded.

"I don't want to know you."

"Give me a chance."

"Why should I?" She exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down. The fucking prefects'll hear. You don't know the real me. You just know some stories. Please, give me a chance to show you who I am."

"I know who you are."

"No, you don't."

She sighed and threw back her long blond hair.

"Fine. If I meet with you once, will you let me back into class?"

"Yes. I swear."

"Okay. Tonight. I'll see you tonight. Now go away."

"You promise?"

"Yes!"

"Cool. See you tonight. After dinner."

He moved away and she went back into class.

Jimmy could not help but yell: "Yes!!" His yell echoed all through the school. This alerted Prefect Branting, who sent Jimmy to English with a smile on his face.


	6. An Unheeded Warning

"Johnny wants a word." Petey said, sitting down at the dinner table where Jimmy was eating.

"What?" Jimmy asked, his mouth full of creamed corn, the only part of the meal he would touch.

"Johnny Vincent's looking for you." Pete sounded really nervous.

"Why?"

"I don't know, but he's good and pissed."

"I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"You might want to talk to him tonight."

"Fuck that." Jimmy said, smiling, "I have a date."

Pete went white.

"Don't tell me...the new girl..." He stammered.

"Yep."

"Are you insane? When Zoe hears about this, she'll rip your nuts off and stick them on the flagpole!"

"She's not gonna find out. That's where you come in, Pete my man."

Pete went even whiter.

"No way. Uh uh. I love you, Jimmy, but there's some stuff I just won't do."

"Come on, Petey. Just distract her for a few hours. Smoke some pot with her."

"I don't smoke pot."

"There's no better time to start."

Pete sighed heavily.

"Jimmy, there's just no way."

"Yes. Jimmy said.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Pete, I need your help here. You gotta do me a solid."

"Dude, me and Zoe, just...no."

"Please? Who knows? Maybe if she smokes enough, she'll think you're me and bang you."

"A likely scenario. Okay, maybe I can deal with Zoe, but Jimmy, you gotta keep an eye out for Johnny. This is no joke."

Jimmy scoffed.

"Please. Johnny Vincent is my puppet. I have complete control over him. He's a fucking loser."

Pete still looked worried.

"One of these days, you're gonna get in a lot of trouble, Jimmy." He said.

"Probably," Jimmy said, putting down his fork, "but not today."


	7. Ambushed

Jimmy left the cafeteria and was surprised to see Cecellia waiting for him right outside. He was sure that he was going to have to run all over the grounds looking for her, but here she was, waiting for him.

"You're here." He said, not doing a good job at hiding his surprise.

"Of course I am. I told you I'd meet you, didn't I? I keep my promises."

"Okay. Let's go. I'll how you around the grounds."

"Okay, but don't get cute with me."

Jimmy smiled.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Jimmy led her out of the main building and showed her around the entire campus for the next hour. The darker it got, the more he found himself alert. Since he'd come back to Bullworth there were always some people who tried to attack him in an effort to steal his title. They usually tried at night.

"So your dad's in the army, huh?" Jimmy asked as they walked past the Library.

"Yeah."

"Does he get to shoot people?"

She gave him a nasty look.

"No. Besides, there's not really any wars going on right now."

"What's it like having a dad who's in the army?"

"It sucks," She said. "He's gone a lot. I almost never see him. I don't see my mom much either. Patrick and I pretty much get taken care of by maids and nannies. Now we're at this school...I try to look out for him. Keep him safe from people like you."

Jimmy looked away, eager to change the subject. She did it for him.

"What about your dad?"

"I ain't got one. I just got a bunch of guys my mom fucks then leaves." He said, his voice drenched in bitterness.

"That's...too bad."

"That's why I came here in the first place. My mom went off on a year long honeymoon with her newest boyfriend and they dumped me here. It sucks."

"Do you see your mom?"

"I haven't seen her for almost a year and a half." He shrugged." Maybe she's dead."

"That's not a nice way to think."

"It's the only way I think, Cecellia."

"It must suck to be you then," She said. "And call me Cece."

"Okay. Cece."

"So how did this happen? How did you become such a legend around here?"

"It was an accident really. I came here and got manipulated by some nutcase named Gary Smith. He tried to use me to beat all the cliques so he could take over the school. I turned on him and eventually took him down. He's gone now. The rest is history."

"Sounds like a hard life."

"Could be worse."

She shrugged, then threw back some strands of her hair.

"I hate it here." She said.  
"I don't blame you."

"I don't have any friends."

After a moment's hesitation, Jimmy put his hand over hers.

"You have me." He said.

They looked into each other's eyes. This was the moment. Jimmy leaned forward, his lips ready. Cecellia closed her eyes, unable to deny the attraction she'd felt for Jimmy since the very day she'd seen him. Their lips met.

They didn't notice they were right next to the Auto Shop.

The kiss was short lived. Strong arms suddenly took hold of Jimmy and wrenched him away from Cecellia. A fist hit him in the stomach. It was too dark to see his opponnents. He tried to break free from the grasp of the person holding him, maybe reach his pocket where he kept his slingshot, a bag of marbles and itching powder, but it was no use. Cecellia screamed in the darkness. A gruff voice said:

"Shut that bitch up!"

Jimmy recognized that voice. Johnny Vincent.

"Johnny." He said. "Leave her alone."

He was thrown to the ground. He tried to get up but received a kick to the side.

"I told you not to mess around with Lola, Jimmy." Johnny's voice said in the darkness.

"What?" Jimmy croaked.

He was lifted up again. He knew who was holding him. Hal Eposito, that fat tub of lard.

"You know what. You've been fucking around with my Lola. I warned you, Jimmy."

"I never touched Lola, Johnny. We've been over this before."

"Don't bullshit me. Someone left me this note in my locker."

Jimmy heard the sound of a rolled up sheet of paper being unfurled.

"It says you got caught in the boy's bathroom with your hand down Lola's pants."

"Who sent you that?" Jimmy asked, hoping a prefect would arrive and break this up.

A pause.

"I don't know. There's no signature."

"Johnny, you dumbass." Jimmy breathed. "You're actually gonna believe a note someone left in your locker?"

"It don't matter. What matters is I'm gonna beat your head in."

But Johnny didn't have time to beat Jimmy's head in. From somehwere in the darkness came a deafening roar of:

"RUSSELL SMASH!"

Something large flew through the air and tackled Johnny. Jimmy took this advantage and rammed his elbow into Eposito's stomach. Eposito grunted and Jimmy was released. Jimmy spun around and hit Eposito in the face with a punch. The Greaser holding Cecellia, Lefty Mancini, let go of her and joined the fray himself, running at Jimmy. Jimmy ducked low and threw out his forearm, clotheslining Mancini and knocking him to the pavement.

Russell was holding Johnny up. Johnny was bleeding from the nose and trying to hit him, but his fists wouldn't reach.

"Let him go, Russell." Jimmy said.

Russell obediantly dropped Johnny. Johnny hit the ground and started to get up, but before he could, Jimmy primed his slingshot and pointed it right at Johnny's forehead.

"What's your deal?" Jimmy snarled. "You want to break our partnership over some stupid letter?"

Johnny stood up, apparently oblivious to the slingshot. He brushed dirt and dust off his leather jacket.

"The Hole. You and me. Tomorrow night. Ten O'Clock." He said.

Jimmy lowered the slingshot and opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out, Johnny had turned and walked away, leaving his fallen Greasers behind.


	8. Girding for Battle

The next day, Jimmy didn 't go to any classes. The ambush last night had left him worse condition than he'd originally thought. He had bruises all up and down his chest and stomach.

At least they didn't hit my face, he thought, looking at himself in the mirror.

He sat around his room, not stepping outside even once in case Johnny and his boys had planned a little encore. They probably hadn't, since Johnny wanted to meet Jimmy in the hole tonight.

The Hole...he wondered whether or not he'd be able to beat Johnny. He most likely could. He'd done it before, a lot of times, and last night, Johnny had outnumbered him three to one.

At least until Russell showed up, Jimmy thought, smiling. Russell was turning out to be a lot more valuable than he'd first thought.

Why was he even going? Because he wanted to save face of course, but would humiliating Johnny again do anything? But he had to show up, because if he didn't fight Johnny tonight, Johnny would keep attacking, and Jimmy probably wouldn't get a chance to fight him one and one. Johnny liked to play rough. Jimmy would probably have to go to class with a machine gun just to stay alive.

Then he started thinking about who had planted the letter in Johnny's locker. What enemies did Jimmy have? Quite a few, but none of them were actually smart enough to actually pick the lock on Johnny's locker and plant a note in there. One of the nerds, maybe? Probably not. Jimmy had been holding a good alliance with them. That slimy Preppie bastard Derby Harrington? Again, unlikely. Derby would probably invite Jimmy to a boxing match if he wanted to settle something, or just do the same thing Johnny had and ambush him at night. Stealth and sublety was not of Derby's greater skills.

Then he thought about Cecellia. She'd been really shaken up last night. She'd probably never been attacked like that before. Jimmy felt bad that it had to happen while he was with her. He hoped she'd still see him. And did she believe that he'd been messing around with Lola? He hoped not. What would that make him look like?

He thought about all these things, lying on his bed and staring at the cracked ceiling of his dorm room until Pete came by at noon. Jimmy hadn't seen Pete since yesterday at dinner. Pete's bed had been empty when he came home last night.

Jimmy was about to ask how Pete had fared with Zoe, then saw that Pete had a blackened eye and a bandage on the right die of his face.

"Jesus, what happened to you, man?" Jimmy asked, alarmed.

"Zoe." He said simply, throwing his books on his bed. "Last night, she kept asking me where you were and tried to walk away to go looking for you. Every time she tried to walk away I'd block her path. That worked until she dug her nails into my face and punched me out."

"I'm sorry, man." Jimmy said.

"Don't be. I heard Johnny Vincent attacked you last night."

"Yeah."

"So you're fighting him tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"  
Jimmy sighed.  
"I have to."

No more was said on the subject.

"How did it go with Cecellia?" Pete asked.

"Not so well, considering we were attacked by Greasers." Jimmy said. He debated telling Pete about the kiss for a moment but decided not to.

"Did she get hurt?"

"No, but that greaseball Mancini laid his hands on her. I'll have a little talk with him when I finish with Johnny."

Pete sighed.

"So now what are you doing?" He asked.

Jimmy stood up and stretched, and threw a few shadow punches in the mirror.

"Girding for battle." He said.


	9. Cecellia's interruption

It was ten minutes to ten o'clock when Jimmy, flanked by Petey and Rusell, stepped out of the boys dorm. Watching carefully for Prefects, they made their way to the Boiler room. Jimmy was not surprised by the lack of Prefects. Even they showed up to watch a fight in The Hole.

"You know what to do in case any Greasers show up, right Russell?" Jimmy asked as they walked.

Russell punched the palm of his left hand with his fist.

"Smash." He said.

"That's right, Russell."

They were almost at the Boiler room when they heard footsteps behind them. Jimmy spun, his hand falling to his slingshot pocket, but then he saw it was a girl. For a second, Jimmy was sure it was Zoe, but then he recognized the blonde hair. It was Cecellia.

"Jimmy?" She asked.

Russell stepped forward, but Jimmy held him back by grabbing his forearm.

"Is that you, Cece?" He asked.

"Yes."

Jimmy let go of Russell's arm.

"You guys go ahead. I'll meet you at the Hole." He told Pete and Russell.

The two walked on. When they were far away, Jimmy turned to Cecellia.

"You weren't in class today." She said.

"No," He said. "I was recovering."

"Are you hurt?"

"No. Are you?"

"A few bruises." She said.

Jimmy tightened his hand into a fist at his left side. He was going to make Mancini pay for that...

"Are you fighting him?" Cecellia asked, her voice soft.

Jimmy felt a bit taken aback by this.

"Of course I am. After what he pulled last night, I'm going to break his face."

"Why?"

"Well, becase..." Jimmy didn't know what to say. "I have to."

"Why? So you can look good? Keep your little reputation?"

"I can't back down. I have to be a man, here." Jimmy said, feeling his anger rising.

"It takes a bigger man to walk away."

Jimmy scoffed.

"Not a Bullworth, sweetheart."

"Of course not. You're all savages who go around beating each other up. Why should you be any different!" Cecellia cried.

"Cece---" Jimmy began.

"And here I thought you were different, Jimmy. Well go on and have your little fight. I won't have any part of it."

She turned and began to walk away. Jimmy called her name but she didn't turn back. Sighing, Jimmy turned and walked off.


	10. Old Friends and enemies

When Jimmy arrived at The Hole, he saw it was already fell of students and even a few teachers, all of whom were eager to see the fight. Cornelius Johnson was taking bets in the corner. Jimmy listened and found out that Johnny was an odds on favorite for this fight. Good. He even considered going over and placing a bet on himself, but figured he shouldn't. Jimmy handed his jacket to Pete and jumped into The Hole. There were mixed cheers and jeers from the crowd.

Johnny strode in and jumped into The Hole. He was still wearing his leather jacket. Good call, asswipe, Jimmy thought. Jackets interefered with your swinging ability in a fight.

"I'm gonna stomp you, Hopkins." He sneered.

"Bring it on." Jimmy yelled over the cheers of the crowd. He was feeling uneasy. His last fight in The Hole had been with Russell last year.

Earnest Jones, the leader of the nerds, stepped forward.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Hole, Bullworth's most sacred battle ground, where for decades since the school's opening, teenage titans have struggled for superiority through the age old art of hand-to-hand combat. Tonight, we have two fighters squaring off. In one corner, the terrifying, bone crunching leader of the Greasers, Johnny Vincent!"

Cheers erupted all around. Johnny raised his hands to the crowd.

"And in the other corner, we have Jimmy Hopkins, king of the school, protector of the weak---"

"Get on with it!" Jimmy yelled.

"Er, right. Fighters, bow to each other."

Johnny and Jimmy did no such thing. They kept eye contact.

"Okay, then," Earnest continued. "Three...two..one...fight!"

Johnny charged right away, swinging right for Jimmy's face. Jimmy ducked easily and came up swinging for Johnny's kidneys. Jimmy hit nothing but air, and Johnny swung his arms around and hit Jimmy right in the face. Cheers erupted all around. Jimmy felt blood flow from his burst lip.

"Not so tough, are you, Hopkins?" Johnny said, smiling.

He charged again, but this time Jimmy was ready for him. He ducked low and threw himself at Johnny's legs, tackling him down. He got on top of Johnny and started pounding his face. He managed to most certainly break Johnny's nose. Johnny lifted his knee and caught Jimmy in the crotch, knocking him back. Johnny got up, blood running down his chin, and swung a right at Jimmy. He missed and Jimmy backed off. This wasn't going well at all. Johnny looked crazed, look ready to kill Jimmy and not give it a second thought. He charged again and Jimmy barely dodged his next punch. Remembering all those moves that the hobo behind the parking lot had taught him, Jimmy hit Johhny in the stomach with a roundhouse kick that sent him reeling. Johnny fell back groaning, and this time Jimmy charged in for the kill. He grabbed Johnny and pounded him in the face with both fists, kicking him in the side and chest. He grabbed a handful of Johnny's thick, greasy hair and began to beat his head against the walls of The Hole, leaving huge blood smears. When Jimmy finally let go of Johnny, he fell limp to the bloody floor, knocked out.

Jimmy stood and wiped his forehead. The entire crowd was silent, looking at the bloody and beaten Johnny.

From somehwere in the crowd, Jimmy heard the sound of clapping. Slow clapping. He turned to look at who was clapping. The crowd parted like the red sea, some of them gasping. Standing at the edge of the Hole, scar-faced and fair-haired, was Gary Smith.

Jimmy was speechless. He didn't know what was going on.

"Well done, Jimmy, well done. I should have expected it from you." Gary said, still clapping.

Jimmy thrust his hand into his pocket and came up with his slingshot. He primed it with a marble and aimed it at Gary's head. With luck, one good shot to the head would put him down.

Gary stopped clapping and folded his arms across his chest.

"Put that toy away, James. We're both men here."

"What the fuck are you doing here, Gary?" Jimmy said softly, not lowering the slingshot.

"You know, I've been asking myself that question for a while."

"You were in juvie! I saw the news reports."

"Oh, yes, that. Well, you'd be surprised how eager juvenile institutions are to release model prisoners. Two months and I was out."

"And Crabblesnitch actually let you back in here, after you tied him up and incited a huge riot?" Jimmy asked dryly.

"All it took was some sweet talk. The weak-minded are always so easy to sway. Enough about that. What matters is I'm back, Jimmy. Back to take my rightful place as king of this school."

"And you think I'll actually let that happen?" Jimmy snarled.

"You won't have a choice, old friend. You see, planting the note in that oaf's locker and setting him against you was just the tip of the iceberg. You're going down, Jimmy. Down."

"I'll kill you, Gary. Whatever it takes, I'll kill you."

"An idle pipe dream, just like everything else with you, Jimmy. You can never see the big picture. You are weak."

"Weak, huh? Why don't you step down here and try to prove it?"

"Me, fight you? Please, James. I have a much more serious agenda. You're going down, Jimmy. And soon Bullworth will be mine."

Jimmy let fly the marble. It sailed straight towards Gary's face, but Gary dodged it easily.

"Your aim's off, Jimmy. You might want to practice." He said, grinning.

And slowly, Gary walked, not ran, away, obvlivious to the shouts of "I'LL GET YOU!" coming from behind him.


	11. Reconcilliation

Jimmy's next few days at Bullworth were troubled. He barely went to his classes, instead resorting to staying cooped up in his room, devising plans to take down Gary and getting alliances together, which is what Gary would surely be doing. He'd lost the greasers, that was for sure, but he might still have a chance with them. Jimmy had a strong feeling that Gary would get the preps on his side. If the preps were on Gary's side, the greasers would be against him. The bullies would stand with Jimmy, but they were getting harder and harder to control. The nerds were still his allies, but they were next to useless when it came to fighting. The only good thing about them was that they knew their chemistry, and how to make some really wicked weapons. Gary would probably try to get them on his side. He still wasn't sure about the jocks.

The worst thing about it was that Gary was right there. Right there in his face. Jimmy could have beaten him to a pulp anytime he wanted, but he knew if he did that, Gary would win. He had to stay cool and figure this out. He still couldn't believe that crazy bastard Crabblesnitch had let Gary back in. Had he forgotten everything that had happened the year before?

Jimmy had other concerns. Cecellia and Zoe. He managed to avoid Zoe most of the time, but Cece was still acting cold to him. Not as cold as she had when she'd first arrived, but cold.

After about three days of furious planning, Jimmy decided it was time to lay off. He had plenty of time to figure out what he would do about Gary, and if he skipped too many classes he'd be expelled. If he was expelled, that meant Gary won.

Besides, he needed to get back with Cecellia.

He'd taken to following her around. Jimmy had a feeling she knew, but she acted like he wasn't there. He was still having problems with Zoe. She was starting to realize something was going on. He tried to keep it a secret, but he knew he'd have to confront her about it sometime.

One day after classes, Jimmy spotted Cece alone out at the football field, watching the jocks batter each other. It was a bit strange to find her here of all places.

He went up and sat beside her. She didn't acknowledge his presence.

"Hey, beautiful." He said, smiling.

"Leave me alone, Jimmy." She said.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that." Jimmy said. "What are you doing here, anyway? This is the last place I'd expect to find you."

She smiled. Those perfect white teeth of hers glinted in the mid-afternoon sunshine.

"I like it here. It's strangely comforting to watch the jocks practice."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow.

"Comforting?"

"Well, maybe not comforting, but entertaining."

"I guess." Jimmy said. "How's Patrick?"

"Fine. He's fitting in real well, unlike me."

"I don't see why that would be." Jimmy said, smiling his most winning smile.

"What do you want, Jimmy?" Cece asked, sounding frustrated.

"Give me another chance."

"I never gave you a chance in the first place." She said.

"Don't give me that."

She sighed.

"Jimmy, we're just too different."

Jimmy laid his hand down on hers.

"Opposites attract."

Cece stood up.

"Jesus, you just never get the message, do you?"

Jimmy stood up and moved closer to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. She didn't try to move away.

"I'm a slow learner." He said.

He kissed her. She tensed up momentarily, but then wrapped her arms around him, returning the kiss full force. Jimmy forgot about everything, Zoe, Gary, Johnny Vincent, everything. All that mattered was her and this moment.

**AN: Thanks to all the people who have reviewed. Forgive me for taking so long to update. I've got other writing projects on hand.**


	12. Set Up By a Sociopath

Jimmy was feeling better than he had in a long time. After all the crap and fighting he'd been through, it looked like things might be getting better. He had Cece, that was all that mattered. Let Gary have the school. He didn't want it. He was tired of being the Great and Fearless Jimmy Hopkins, who everyone looked up to. Now he just wanted to be Jimmy.

"What are you going to do?" Cece asked. They were walking away from Jock land, holding hands.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me. About that Gary kid."

Jimmy shrugged.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Let him take this piece of shit school. I don't care. I'm tired of all the fighting, all the violence. One day it's gonna get out of hand and someone's going to get killed. And it isn't going to be me."

Cece smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that."

They were near the gym when there was a loud shriek behind them.

Jimmy spun around, his hand falling to his slingshot pocket.

It was Zoe. She had been crying, obviously, Her mascara was running.

Jimmy was in a state of shock. He wanted to tell Cece to run, but he couldn't move.

"Zoe..." Jimmy began. "Wait."

She did no such thing. Instead she ran towards him like a freight train. Before Jimmy could put his guard up, she slashed him across the face with her razor sharp nails. Jimmy screamed, blood spurting from his cheek. He had to protect Cecellia.

"How could you do this to me, you fucking scumbag?" Zoe yelled.

She kicked him in the crotch. A sickly pain shot through Jimmy's stomach and he fell to his knees, his eyes filling with tears of pain.

"Fucker!" Zoe screamed.

She turned her attention to Cece.

"And you. You little slut. I'll teach you to fuck around with other people's boyfriends!"

"Leave her alone." Jimmy said weakly, but it had no effect. The air filled with the sound of a hand hitting flesh. Cece gave a short shriek of pain.

Jimmy was hurting, but he forced himself to get up all the same.

"Leave her alone." He repeated, louder this time.

Zoe turned back to him and without a moment's hesitation, delivered a hard punch to his jaw. Jimmy felt that ring she always wore on her index finger tear into his flesh. The punch drove him back to the ground.

"Fuck you, Jimmy." She said, and then he felt a thick wad of spittle hit his lacerated face.

Jimmy heard Zoe's loud footfalls as she ran off and could have cried with relief if he wasn't already crying with pain.

Cece was standing over him, wiping the saliva and blood off his face with a handkerchief. Her left eye was starting to turn a light shade of purple from the punch Zoe had given her. That fucking bitch. He'd make her pay for hurting Cece.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"Never better." He replied, his voice shrill with pain.

"I need to get you to the infirmary." She said.

"No, no. I'm fine, really. Just go get Petey."

After a brief moment of hesitation, she nodded and vanished.

Jimmy sat up, mindful of the pain in his groin. He sat down against the side of the gym and dug out a package of Montagnard cigarettes, which he'd taken to carrying around, and lit one.

"Bravo, Jimmy." A voice said.

Jimmy looked up and saw Gary appraching him, clapping sardonically.

"That was really fun to watch. But bear in mind, when I get through with you the beating you just got will seem like nothing."

"Fuck you, Gary." Jimmy spat.

"She's a fiery one, isn't she? That new little girlfriend of yours? Really nice. I'll keep her in mind." Gary said.

"Touch her and you die." Jimmy said.

"Well, anyway, when I found out you had yourself a new little girlfriend, I felt it was only fair to tell Zoe. She deserved to know. I didn't think this was how she'd react, though."

"Bite me." Jimmy said. He just couldn't think of anything better to say.

"Bear in mind that this was just a taste, my friend. Things are about to get a whole lot worse."

"Look, Gary," Jimmy said, exhaling a fine stream of smoke. "If you want to be the king of Bullworth so bad, go ahead. I won't stop you."

"Are you surrendering?" Gary asked smugly.

"Fucking right I am. Take it, take everything. Just leave me and Cece alone."

"That's a very nice offer, Jim, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Becoming the new king of this school is on my agenda all right, but my topmost priority is you. I want to take you down, Jimmy, and by the time this is all over, you'll wish you'd never crossed me."

Gary turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Jimmy alone and bloody.

**AN: Now that I've got all of that out of the way, things are going to get better. Again, sorry for the wait. I've got a novel to finish writing.**


	13. A Brief Interlude

Zoe's assault on Jimmy had left him in worse shape than he'd first thought. He'd needed eight stitches to close up his cheek and another two where the ring had hit him. One of his teeth had been loosened really badly, so the doctors went ahead and took it out. His balls hurt for days afterwards and he found himself popping an aspirin every five minutes. They helped.

All in all, Jimmy wasn't really angry at Zoe for what she'd done to him. In a sense, he'd deserved it. He should have told her he was seeing someone else.

Jimmy was worried about how Cece would react to all this. He couldn't stand losing her again.

"I can't believe you stayed with a nutcase like her for so long, anyway." She said the day after Jimmy got out of the hospital.

"Neither can I." Jimmy had replied. There was genine regret in his voice.

There were no more major disturbances in Jimmy's life after that. Though the fear of Gary doing something loomed over him like a shadow, he was still more relaxed than he'd been in months. Almost all of his spare time was spent with Cece. He didn't let her out of his sight. She was all he needed.

But things at Bullworth were starting to heat up. With Jimmy so preoccupied, bullying began to increase. Fights and scuffles broke out between classes and at lunch hours. Weapons like bottle rockets, slingshots, firecrackers, stink bombs, brass knuckles, and even a knife or two were confiscated. The nerds stayed cooped up in their dorm rooms, devising plans to protect themselves from the bullies. The Greasers were still planning an assault on Jimmy for putting Johnny in the hospital. It was becoming too much for the Prefects to handle.

Silently and with a smile on his scarred face, Gary watched these developpements and hatched plans of his own.

It was an interlude. A brief period of calm in Jimmy Hopkins' life. But he knew that it couldn't last forever.


	14. Interrupted

"What's your favorite color?" Jimmy asked.

"I don't know. Red's pretty. How about you?"  
Jimmy considered this for a moment.

"I don't know."

It was nine o'clock in the evening and Jimmy and Cecellia were lying on their backs on the football field, looking up at the stars. There were no prefects to come disturb them. They were completely alone.

"How can you not know?" She asked.

"Blue, then. Blue's my favorite color."

"Why blue?"

"It's the color of my favorite pair of eyes in the world." Jimmy said, turning to her and smiling.

"You're so corny."

"I prefer to think of myself as a romantic."

He kissed her. Jimmy kissed her in a way he'd never kissed any other girl. He kissed her with completely unshadowed love and didn't care who saw or what they thought.

"You're so beautiful." Jimmy said when they broke apart.

"You're not so bad yourself." She replied.

It was getting really dark and Jimmy was about to suggest that they to go back to his dorm room when his cell phone rang.

"Fuck..."He muttered, digging it out of his slacks. He hated being interrupted when he did anything, and hated it even more when there was a girl involved. Especially this girl.

"Hello." Jimmy said into the phone, standing up and brushing grass off his pants.

"Having fun?"

Gary. That slimy voice he'd grown to hate so much on the other end of his phone.

"Eat me, Gary." Jimmy said, his finger inching towards the phone's END button.

"Eat you? I don't know where you've been. Besides, Jimmy. This isn't a social call. This is...business."

"Me and you have no business, Gary."

"Your little girlfriend might beg to differ."

Jimmy could feel a cold shiver creeping up his spine.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She has nice eyes, James. Her brother has the same eyes, doesn't he? I can tell. I'm looking into them right now."

Jimmy's grip on the phone tightened until he thought the plastic casing would split under his fingers.

"Patrick? What have you done to Patrick?" Jimmy asked. His legs were quivering.

"Nothing yet. Just gave him a little bump on the head. He's fine. But that might change."

"I don't believe you.You don't have Patrick, you're just feeding me this line of crap to get a rise out of me. Well, fuck you, Gary. I'm hanging up."

"You do that and I'll cut his throat."

The coldness in Gary's voice told Jimmy that he wasn't joking around.

"Still don't believe me, James? Take a listen." Gary said. Then another voice was speaking, and it wasn't Gary's. It was Patrick's, small and full of fear.

"Help...help me, Jimmy..."

"_What have you done to him?!_" Jimmy screamed into the phone.

By now Cecellia had realized something was up and was tugging on the sleeve of Jimmy's sweatshirt in an effort to get his attention, but it was useless. Jimmy was captivated by the voice on the other end of his phone.

"He's fine, Jimmy. I give you my word. We're in the Greaser tenements in New Coventry. The Greasers are all over at the hospital with Johnny or at the school, so they haven't been hanging around here lately. It's a really useful place. I want you here, in no more than an hour, or else the little bastard dies."

Jimmy's fevered brain was trying to determine a plan of action.

"I know you, Gary. You're not a killer." He said.

"I'm not, am I? I picked up some tricks over in that juvenile institution I got sent to, Jimmy. One of them was how to slice a throat without batting an eye. I'll do it, Jimmy. Don't put that to the test. One hour. If I see cops, the kid dies. If see you're not alone, the kid dies. I catch you sneaking around the back, the kid dies. Get over here, now."

The line went dead.

"_Motherfucker!_" Jimmy cried in frustration, shoving the phone into his pocket.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Cecellia was asking, sounding almost hysterical. She'd obviously realized that something was wrong with Patrick.

"It's Gary." Jimmy said breathlessly. "He's got Patrick. I heard Patrick's voice. I have to go get him."

"What?" She asked, wide-eyed.

"Gary's got Patrick over in some tenements in New Coventry. If I'm not over there in an hour he'll kill Patrick."

Cecellia recoiled as if someone had hit her.

"We have to call the police." She said.  
"No. If we call the cops, Gary'll kill Patrick. I don't know if he's bluffing or not, but he sounded pretty serious. I don't want to play around with that. I'm going over there."

Jimmy started off the football field, but Cecellia's arm held him back.

"Jimmy, you can't go over there. It's dangerous." Cecellia said, almost near tears now.

"If I don't go, Patrick dies."

"Take Russel with you."

Jimmy shook his head.

"I have to go alone."

"I'm coming with you, then."

Jimmy was getting frustrated.

"Cecellia, haven't you been listening? If I don't go alone, Gary will kill Patrick!"

"I have to go. He's my brother, Jimmy!" The tears were coming now, and Jimmy could feel his hatred for Gary mounting. Jimmy put his arms around Cecellia and held her.

"I'll be okay alone." He said soothingly. "Don't worry about Patrick. A criminal mastermind Gary is not. I can handle him."

"What should I do?" Cecellia asked tearfully, her face buried into Jimmy's sweatshirt.

"Get Pete. Wake him up and tell him to stand by. I might need his help."

Jimmy kissed Cecellia reassuringly, tried to smile, and then took off running for his dorm, already making a mental list of what he would have to take with him.


	15. Trapped

Jimmy gathered up all of his weapons and equipement and then set out for New Coventry. He had no bike or other mode of transportation, so it took him longer than it should have. He also had to sneak around as to not be detected by the cops. He had quite a reputation around town and knew that if he was caught sneaking around with a backpack full of weapons he'd have some explaning to do.

He made it to the tenements with fifteen minutes to spare. He opened his pack and pulled out his spudgun before climbing through the window.

The tenements were silent, with the exeception of the rats scurrying around in the shadows. They were dark too. Jimmy cursed himself for not bringing a flashlight as he made his way through the decayed halls.

He was halfway up the stairs to the second floor when his cellphone rang, startling him. He removed it from his pocket with shaking hands.

"Gary." He said, hitting the talk button. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Gary.

"Hello, Jimmy," The smooth voice Jimmy had grown to hate so much crooned on the other end. "I see you've made it."

"Cut the shit, Gary. Where are you?"

"Third floor, the room at the far left."

The phone went dead. Jimmy stuffed it back into his pocket and kept moving.

It took him a long time to reach the third floor. The last time he'd been to the tenements had been months ago, and it had been day time, then. He was also very careful. He was almost sure that Gary would jump out from the shadows with a machine gun or something at any moment.

He was especially cautious when he reached the third floor. He walked with the spudgun held carefully in front of him and peered into every room, straining his eyes to see through the thick darkness. He made it to the room Gary had indicated, but it was empty except for an old, moth eaten couch in the center and some discarded beer cans and cigarette butts. No sign of Gary or Patrick.

His mind screamed at him that this was a trap, but he went in anyway, sweeping the spudgun around the room, ready to fire it at the slightest movement.

He'd almost made it to the center of the room when he felt something cold and sharp press into his neck.

He froze, his muscles stiffening and the spudgun tumbling from his hands. It hit the floor with a dull thump.

"Good job, James," Gary said from behind him. "I knew you'd show up. I'm going to take the knife away and I want you to slowly drop the pack and then walk over to that couch and sit down. But don't make any sudden moves, or I'll stick you."

Nearly shaking with rage, Jimmy obeyed. He could feel Gary behind him as he walked over to the couch, but didn't dare make a move against him. He sat down, the old couch sinking underneath his weight.

Gary stood before him, nearly invisible to Jimmy. It occured to Jimmy that he could make a move now, but going head to head against Gary when he had a knife didn't seem like the best course of action.

"Patrick's not here, is he?" Jimmy asked.

"No," Gary said, the laughter in his voice apparent. "How do you like my little voice imitation? Pretty good, wasn't it?"

Jimmy was afraid. The notion that Gary might very well kill him, take his life and leave him as a meal for the rats and cockroaches that inhabited the tenements, came to him. He knew he had to keep Gary talking.

"What's all of this about, Gary? I told you, I don't want Bullworth. Take it. What else do you want from me?"

"I want you to watch you die, Jimmy."

The posh, sophisticated way Gary usually spoke was absent when he said these words. Jimmy knew that he meant it.

"Kill me?' Jimmy said, and then laughed dully. "You're not a killer."

"Oh, no? Things change, Jimmy. When I was in that hellhole, things happened to me, things you couldn't begin to understand. When I got out, all I could think about was getting my revenge on you, destroying you. You took away my life, so now I'm going to take yours."

"You won't get away with this." Jimmy said, hoping the fear in his voice wouldn't show.

Gary stepped forward, and in the glow of the streetlights outside, Jimmy saw the knife. The blade was curved and at least eight inches long.

"Why do you think I brought you here? Nobody knows you're here, execpt for the Morris bitch, and I have plans for her."

"If you touch her, I'll kill you." Jimmy spat.

Gary laughed.

"Same old Jimmy." He said.

Gary had gone insane. Completely insane. Jimmy knew that this was the end for him. Gary took a step forward, the knife held high. Jimmy was frozen to the couch, not able to take his eyes off of the gleaming blade.

The knife was almost at Jimmy's throat when suddenly Gary was hit by something. He gave a loud grunt and hit the floor. Jimmy could see two shapes wrestling on the floor in the darkness, and then he heard a loud, piercing scream that was strangely familliar. One of the two shapes took off running out of the room.

The scream broke the spell for Jimmy. He bolted from the couch and knealt beside the other shape, pulling it into the light.

It was Pete. His face was deadly pale and his hand was clasped around his lower chest. Jimmy could see blood seeping out from between the fingers and realized that Gary had stabbed him.

"No." He muttered. He began to slap Pete across the face.

"You stupid bastard! You shouldn't of come here!" Jimmy cried, the words echoing all through the tenements.

Pete had gone into shock. Fearing for his friend's life, Jimmy dug out his cell phone and dialed 911.


	16. At the hospital

Jimmy, his shirt stained with Pete's blood, paced around the lobby of the hospital. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer and he was clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles were whitening. He'd get Gary for this if it was the last thing he ever did.

Finally he sat down in one of the uncomfortable lobby chairs. Pete couldn't die. He just couldn't. In all the shitholes Jimmy had been to in his life, Pete was his only real friend. He didn't latch on to Jimmy for protection, or respect, like so many others did.

He was there for almost an hour when finally one of the doctors, a tall man who reminded Jimmy of Dr. Crabblesnitch, came out and spoke to him.

"It looks like your friend is going to be okay. He just got out of surgery. The knife didn't hit any major organs, but he did lose a lot of blood. He's going to have to stay here for a while."

Jimmy felt like weeping with relief. He took hold of the doctor's hand and shook it.

"Thank you." He said.  
"Uh, look," The doctor said, sounding uncomfortable. "It's best if you don't go anywhere for awhile. The police might want to question you."

Jimmy nodded, already formulating what he was going to say in his head.

The doctor left and Jimmy sat down in his chair. He wanted to see Cecellia more than anything in the world. He knew that he'd have to break it off with her sometime soon. If they kept it up Gary would use her against him, hurt her, just like he'd hurt Pete. He couldn't forgive himself if that happened.

Gary...Jimmy thought. He was going make the little fucker eat his own balls for this.

Two cops showed up to question Jimmy at around midnight. Jimmy recognized one of them. He'd been arrested by him once.

"James Hopkins?" The one Jimmy didn't recognize asked.

Jimmy nodded and stood up.

"We understand that you were with Peter Kowalski when he was attacked earlier tonight?" The cop asked.

"Yes."

"Could you tell us what happened?"

Jimmy took a deep breath and launched into the story he'd been carefully preparing all night.

"Pete and I were out for a walk in the vale. We were just messing around, you know, having a good time. Then at about nine thirty, we were heading back to the academy when some of those townie kids started in on us. We were still wearing our uniforms and they don't take too kindly to Bullworth students. They started razzing us, insulting us, but we just shrugged it off. Then one of them came up and started pushing me. I punched him and there was a scuffle. Some of the other townies got into it and then Pete stepped in to break it up. One of the townies pulled a knife and stabbed him. The townies took off and I called an ambulance."

The cop looked satisfied by this story, but the other one, the one who'd arrested Jimmy, looked skeptical.

"Come on, Hopkins, you expect us to believe that?"

Jimmy shot him a hard look.

The other cop turned to his partner.

"Frank, the kid's had a hard night, Leave him alone." He said, then turned back to Jimmy. "Can you describe your friend's attackers?"

For the next ten minutes, Jimmy handed the cops completely made up descriptions. When he finished, they both shook his hand.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The cop Jimmy didn't know said sagely.

"Morons." Jimmy whispered as the two officers walked away.


	17. A brief encounter

Jimmy wearily made his way back to the academy with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his trousers. He could have caught the bus but he opted to walk instead. He needed it to clear his head.

He was angry almost beyond belief. His urge to punch and kick and tear was almost overpowering. He found himself hoping that the prefects would catch him when he got back to the school, just so he could get into a fight.

Pete...Pete who had never hurt anyone, never wished any harm on anyone, who had only wanted to help people, he'd almost died tonight because of Jimmy. Jimmy wished he'd been the one Gary had stabbed. Before he knew it he felt tears begin to work their way down his face. He wiped at them angrily, feeling ashamed. Jimmy Hopkins didn't cry. He was a tough guy. He was fearless...

Finally he reached the school. He could see the beams of the flashlights the prefects carried when on night patrol criss-crossing on the pavement ahead and seriously considered walking up and starting a fight with one of them, but he knew that in his current state he'd either get beaten half to death or end up killing his opponent.

Not taking the trouble to sneak, Jimmy walked to the dorm. It was empty. There was no one in the common room or walking the halls. Sighing, Jimmy made his way over to his room and found the door locked. That was strange. He never locked it and Petey wasn't around. He dug his room key, so under-used it was still a bright golden color, from his pocket and unlocked the door.

When he stepped in, he was surprised to see that the lights were on and Cecellia was sitting on his bed.

"Cece," Jimmy said, surprised by how dull his voice sounded. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't stand to stay in bed while I knew you were out there. What happened? Is Patrick okay?"

"Gary didn't have Patrick. It was all a trap. Gary had a knife...he was going to kill me."

"Kill you?" She asked, her voice sounding small.

"Pete showed up, he tried to fight Gary, but Gary stabbed him."

Jimmy could see Cece's lower lip tremble when he said this. _Don't cry_, he thought. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep his composure if she started to cry.

"Is...is he okay?"

"He's still alive, but he's hurt." Jimmy said. He stepped forward and sat down beside Cecellia. He buried his face in his hands. There were no tears, but he felt like they might come at any moment. He felt Cecellia's hand cover his.

"It's all my fault." Jimmy said. "Pete almost died because of me, me and my fucking pride. I should have let Gary kill me. I have nothing, no family, no real friends, no home, nothing. If I let Gary kill me, a lot less innocent people will be hurt."

"Don't say that." Cece said. He could feel her lips right beside his ear.

"Gary's lost it," Jimmy said. "He's completely lost his mind and he won't stop until he kills me. He doesn't give a shit anymore, doesn't care who he hurts or kills along the way."

He turned to Cecellia. His face was hot, but still, there were no tears. He put his hands on her shoulders.

"You and me...we can't be together. Gary'll get you. He'll use you to get to me."

"I'm not leaving you, Jimmy. You're the best boyfriend I've ever had."

_How many boyfriends have you had?_ Jimmy wondered.

She hugged him. It was nice. Jimmy couldn't remember the last time someone had touched him, held him, with such love.

"I love you, Cecellia." He whispered. He knew he shouldn't, knew that he didn't really love her, but he had to say it.

She didn't say anything, but she kissed him instead. He kissed her back, slipping his tongue gently between her parted lips and running his hands through her blond hair.

The kiss intensified and they slowly fell onto the bed. Jimmy slipped his hands underneath her shirt, feeling all the bumps and ridges in her chest and stomach.

Soon, Jimmy had taken off his shirt and Cecellia was down to her bra. Their shirts lay discarded on the floor beside the bed. Jimmy's hands worked at the button of her slacks and her hand slipped into the waistband of his pants, going down, and down...

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Both of them stiffened and broke their embrace.

"Fuck 'em," Jimmy said, continuing to kiss Cece's neck.

More knocking followed, louder this time.

"You'd better get that." Cecellia said, smiling. She got up and pulled on her blouse, kissing him one last time before dissapearing out of the window.

Muttering darkly, Jimmy pulled on his shirt with one harsh gesture. He answered the door.

It was Bucky Pasteur. He was clad in green pyjamas and looked nervous.

"Jimmy, did you hear? Petey's in the hospital! He--"

Jimmy slammed the door so hard it nearly broke off it's hinges.


	18. Jimmy Makes a Deal

It had been a few weeks since Jimmy's violent beating of Johnny Vincent in the hole, but the greaser was still in the hospital. Jimmy had gone a little overboard and broken a few of his bones, as well as knocking out six of his teeth and making a gash on the side of his neck that required almost a dozen stitches to close. Jimmy was surprised and more than a little nauseated when he sat down beside Johnny's hospital bed and surveyed the damage he'd inflicted. He hadn't meant to hurt Johnny this bad but was still a bit proud that he'd been able to. Johnny was almost twice his size. Jimmy almost asked Johnny why he hadn't gotten the cops involved, but he realized that it was for the same reason he hadn't told the cops that it was Gary who stabbed Pete: he wanted to exact his own form of revenge.

It had taken Jimmy nearly a half an hour to convince the greasers standing outside of Johnny's room to let him in. A few of them, Peanut Romano in particular, looked about ready to drag him outside and beat his head in. Jimmy found himself wishing he'd brought Russel along.

"I just want to talk to him." Jimmy said.

"He don't wanna see you, Hopkins. Get lost." Norton Williams said.

The other greasers all nodded or muttered their agreement.

"I got a business proposition, and I guarantee you and your pals are gonna benifit from it, and when Johnny hears you let a good business proposition slip by, he's not gonna be very happy."

All of the greasers mulled this over, scratching their greasy, pomaded hair. Finally, Hal Eposito stepped forward and said,

"Okay, Hopkins, you can go in, but Lefty and Vance are going in with you."

"No. I'm going in alone."

Hal Eposito and Norton Williams both laughed at him.

"Fuck off, Hopkins." Eposito hissed.

"I'm going in alone, Eposito, and that's the end of it." Jimmy said between clenched teeth.

They both stopped laughing. After another few minutes of silent deliberation, Eposito spoke again.

"Alright, Hopkins, you can go in alone, but we'll be watching."

_Victory_, Jimmy thought.

They all moved aside and Jimmy stepped in.

Johnny had a private room. He was laying in bed with an IV hooked up to his arm and a catheter tube running out underneath his blanket. There was a turban of bandages wrapped around his head and one of his eyes was still a deep black. He seemed to be dozing lightly. Jimmy pulled up a chair and sat down beside him.

"Johnny." He said.

No response.

"Johnny." He repeated, louder this time.

Johnny stirred and his eyes opened. He looked around and saw Jimmy sitting beside him. His un-injured eye widened and he began to thrash wildly.

"Hopkins, what are you doing here?! Norton, Hal, get in here!" He screamed.

They didn't, but Jimmy could tell they wanted to.

"Your boys let me in, Johnny. Now quit thrashing around before you break a fucking rib."

"Hopkins, when I get out of here, you're fuckin' dead."

"Relax, Johnny. I'm here to make peace."

"Peace? That's a laugh! You're lucky my boys aren't in here stompin' your head in."

"Look, I'm sorry I busted up your face, and your bones, and your...well, the bottom line is, I'm sorry. I need your help."

"You think I'm gonna help you?"

"Just listen. Gary Smith's back."

"You don't think I know that? I'm the--"

"The king around here, I know. He set us up. He planted that letter in your locker."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"No, but trust me, Gary's your enemy. He's gonna try and form an alliance with the preps to take me down, and take you and the greasers down, too. He considers you a threat."

"We are a threat. That little queer. We'll fuck him right--"

"Save it, okay? So, you and me, we got the same problem here, which means we should form an alliance to take Gary and the preps down."

"You think I need you?"

"Yes. I do. You're good at what you do, but you're a moron, and you're too paranoid. Give me a few of your men, and I'll make the plans. When we take down Gary, I promise, the academy'll be yours."

It took Johnny a few moments to mull this over.

"The school'll be mine?"

"That's what I just said, didn't I?"

Johnny paused again, and then held out a bandaged hand.

"Deal, Hopkins, but don't try to fuck me on this, or I'll stomp you."

"Whatever." Jimmy said, shaking it. "I want you to have a few men follow Gary, Derby Harrington, and Harrington's main bitch, Bif Taylor. But I want them to keep it on the down low. They can't get made or start throwing any punches or they'll fuck everything up. In three days, have them report back and I'll make up a plan."

"Alright. Three days, then. Don't make me regret this." Johnny said.

"I'll try not to."

Jimmy left the room. The greasers were all standing there, looking ready to jump on him.

"Looks like we're in business. Get in there and talk to Johnny. I'll see you guys in a few days."

He started walking down the hall towards the room where Petey was.

"Hopkins, wait!"

He turned to see Ricky Pucino walking down the hall towards him.

"What do you want, Pucino?"

"We might be in business for now, but when this is done, I'm gonna fuck you up."

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a switchblade, opened it, and twirled it menacingly. Jimmy kept his eyes on the knife for a moment, then stepped forward and rammed his hand between Pucino's legs, crushing his testicles like grapes. Pucino let out a short squeal and dropped the knife.

"I think you might wanna re-think that, asshole." He said, and then let go of Pucino's nut sack.

Pucino fell to the floor, groaning, and Jimmy walked away.


	19. Warnings

Pete was surprisingly cheerful for someone who'd just been stabbed. He nearly jumped out of bed when Jimmy walked into the room, but winced and was forced back down by the pain of his wound.

Pete, unlike Jimmy, didn't have a private room. There was a young man with long hair and a cast around his leg reading a book in the other bed. He took no notice of Jimmy.

Jimmy pulled up his chair and sat down next to Pete's bed.

"How are you, kid?" He asked.

"Terrible. I can't stand this place, Jimmy. I want out. I never thought I'd miss Bullworth Academy so bad. There's nothing to do here but stare at the ceiling."

"I meant how's your...you know."

Pete's hand drifted down and touched hid bandaged side.

"It's okay. Hurts though. Every time I move it feels like someone's jabbing me with an needle."

"That sucks." Jimmy said. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. There was no sound in the room except for the dry scraping of paper every time Pete's roommate turned a page in the book he was reading.

"Pete." Jimmy said after a while. "Why did you come?"

"What?"

"Why did you come to the tenements?"

"Cecellia came and told me what was happening. I couldn't just sit there. I knew it was an ambush."

"That's not what I meant. Why did you come? Why didn't you get Russell? Or someone? Why didn't you just call the cops?"

"Russell wasn't around, and why would I call the cops?" I trust the cops about as much as I trust Gary."

"You're not a fighter, Pete. Gary could have killed you."

"I know that. But what if Gary had killed you, and I knew that I could have stopped him? You think I could have lived with that? I knew Gary had something planned, and I knew that I had to do something. I could have died, but I didn't. And life goes on."

"It's not that simple."

"What are we going to about Gary?"

"We aren't going to do anything. You're gonna stay away, Pete. When you get better, just stay away. Don't come near me. Not until Gary's out of the picture. He'll use you to get me, and the next time you might not be so lucky."

Pete looked sullen.

"I'm not a little kid, Jimmy."

"Then don't act like one. Be smart here. I'll take care of Gary." Jimmy said, getting up from his chair. "I'll see you around."

He was at the door and had his hand on the knob when Pete spoke from behind him.

"And what if Gary takes care of you?"

Jimmy left the room without another word.


	20. The Meeting

Jimmy was surprised at how well things went over the next few days. He saw that Johnny's greasers were following Derby and his preps, and they were doing in discreetly too, something Jimmy never would have believed possible. There were no fights on the Academy grounds for the next three days, and Jimmy found himself enjoying the calm, although he knew it wouldn't last. He just kept his head down, planning what he was going to do when the three days were up. He did his best to avoid Cecellia too, although he wanted nothing more than to sneak into her dorm room and finish off what they'd started a few nights before.

He attended all his classes, simply because he didn't want any heat from the school staff, but he rarely went to dinner, instead opting to stay in his dorm room, fine tuning his arsenal of weapons and doing push-ups. He'd need to be in top form if he was going to take on Gary and the Preps.

He got the call on Thursday night at 9 o'clock. He was stretched out on his bed, almost asleep, when his cell phone started to ring. He jumped up and swept it off his night table in one swift movement.

"Hello?" He asked, surprised at the clarity in his voice.

"Meet us in the parking lot." The voice on the other end said, then the line went dead.

Jimmy dressed and filled his pockets with his slingshot, marbles, itching powder, and firecrackers. He didn't think he'd need all of that, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

He ducked out of the dorm and ran to the parking lot, his heart pumping with anticipation.

There were a few greasers waiting for him. Norton Williams, Hal Eposito, Ricky Pucino, and Lucky DeLuca. Jimmy was a bit disturbed to note that they were carrying weapons such as baseball bats, brass knuckles, and lengths of steel pipe.

"What's up?" Jimmy asked.

"We got the info," Norton said. "Tonight, Smith and the rich kids are having a meeting in Harrington House. Up on the second floor. They been planning it at all week. All the preps are gonna be there."

Jimmy thought this over.

"Good work."

Lucky grinned, and smacked the end of the pipe he was carrying into his open palm.

"So now what? We're gonna charge in there and fuck 'em right?"

Jimmy just looked at him.

"No." He said.

"What are you talking about, Hopkins?" Pucino raged. "You told Johnny that we were going to take the Preps down!"

"We are, but not tonight."

"Tonight's the perfect fuckin' opportunity!"

"No. Tonight, I go in alone."

"Fuck that," Eposito growled in a low voice, brandishing a chain that he was holding. For a moment Jimmy was sure that he was going to swing it and tightened his hand around the handle of the slingshot in his pocket."

"Yeah, fuck you, Hopkins. We got this info, so we're gonna do whatever we want. We don't take orders frm you." Norton hissed.

"Listen to me," Jimmy said. "It took a lot for me to set this up, and I'm not about to let you morons fuck it all up. I'll send all of you to the infirmary before I let that happen."

"Is that right?" Lucky asked softly, his eyes blazing.

All of them began to advance slowly. Jimmy decided that he'd take Pucino first if it came to that. He had the biggest weapon.

"Guys, this is not the way to do things. Tonight, I go in alone and find out what their plans are, and then you guys can have them. I don't give a fuck, but tonight, it's just me." Jimmy said.

The greasers all stopped. Jimmy realized he'd gotten through to them, but he still wasn't sure they'd go along with his plans.

Norton was the one who spoke first.

"Alright, Hopkins, but if you fuck this up, I'll personally cut of your balls."

"Fine. Look, I'm going to sneak around the back of Harrington House and find a way up there. After that I'll find a place to hide and when they finish their meeting, I'll sneak back out and tell you guys what I heard."

"And what if you don't make it out?" Lucky asked.

"I will. Trust me. I'll see you guys later."

Before another word could be said, Jimmy turned away and bolted towards Harrington House, not caring if he was spotted by prefects along the way or not.

**AN: I know these last two chapters were short, but we're getting into the real action soon**. 


	21. Harrington House

Jimmy was quieter than he'd ever been in his life when he snuck up to Harrington House. There were a lot of preps standing around in front, so he jumped the fence around the back and nearly broke his wrist on the landing.

The back of the house was brick lined, so Jimmy managed to climb up the side. It was the one of the most frightening experiences of his life, almost as bad as when he'd had to fight Gary on top of the school the year before. He barely opened his eyes but somehow managed to make it to the top and crawl through an open window.

He made his way to the main hall, where all the preps had their stupid little meetings. He was surprised and grateful that there weren't many people along the way. He could hear their voices drifting up from the lobby, loud and snobbish, echoing all through the house. One voice he heard particularly clearly was Gary's. It took Jimmy every fiber of his being to keep from running down there and cracking Gary's head open. Soon, he thought to himself, soon.

He made it to the main hall, which was empty except for a large table in the center. Jimmy was sickened by the amount of trophies that were scattered around the room. He hated the preps, hated them almost as much as he hated Gary.

Jimmy crouched behind a large plant in the corner of the room. The plant was almost six feet tall and it gave Jimmy appropriate cover. No one would notice him unless they actually stopped and took a good look, and knowing the Preppies, that didn't seem likely.

He stayed crouched behind the plant for a good fifteen minutes, entertaining grisly revenge fantasies in his head, until the Preps and Gary showed up. They were all talking so loud there was no way they would hear him, but still he held his breath.

The preps all took their places around the table and Gary stood at the head of the table. Jimmy realized he had a clear shot at him and reflected on how easy it would be to just put Gary down with a marble between the eyes with his slingshot. But he held himself back.

"Hello, comrades!" Gary thundered, addressing the table at large. "I trust you all know the purpose of this meeting?"

"To take down the greasers?" A voice in the crowd enquired.

"Yes, but there are other matters at hand. We're here to talk about Jimmy Hopkins. I'm sure that all of you remember what happened last year, when Jimmy seized control of the school, took it from it's rightful owners! Up until now, no one has dared oppose him, but now is the time!"

Silence reigned all through the hall. Everyone's eyes were on Gary.

"I have reason to believe that Hopkins has been trying to form an alliance with the Greasers in an attempt to take me, and all of you, down. I'm not going to sit by and watch that happen, but I can't do it alone. Together, we can crush the Greasers and Hopkins, like the insects they are!"

A thunderous cheer went up all around the table, making Jimmy jump and almost reveal himself. After a few minutes, when all the chatter died down, Gary spoke again.

"I have formulated several plans, and all I need from you is your manpower. There is one thing that I ask from you, though. You must let me have Hopkins."

Jimmy could tell that a lot of the Preps were uneasy, but none of them spoke. Derby Harrington in particular looked sullen. Jimmy knew that Derby was hoping to take him down himself.

"And then, when Hopkins and the Greasers have been disposed of, the rest of the cliques will fall into place, and the Academy will belong to us!" Gary shouted, raising a fist in the air.

Another cheer went up, a louder one this time. Jimmy could feel his anger rise. He reached into his pocket and grasped his slingshot. This was it, he though, slowly pulling it out. He was going to take down Gary here and now...

Before he could get the weapon out of his pocket, a strong hand grasped his collar and jerked him out from behind the plant. Jimmy was too surprised to fight back. He looked up into the grinning face of Bif Taylor.

All the cheering suddenly died out and now everyone's eyes were on him. All the Preppies were wearing expressions of shock, all except for Gary, who was still standing at the head of the table with an evil smile on his face.

He knew, Jimmy realized, he knew I was going to be here.

"Ah, Jimmy," He said. "So nice of you to join us."

"You won't get away with this, Gary." Jimmy growled. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

Gary was still smiling so widely it looked as if his face might suddenly break open.

"I already have." He said.

Jimmy saw Gary's hand drift down to his pocket. Jimmy knew what was in there. His knife.

Jimmy suddenly stamped down on Bif's foot as hard as he could,grateful that he'd decided to wear boots. He thrust his elbow into Bif's stomach and heard the tall boy hit the floor. One of the preps rose from his seat and started for Jimmy. Without thinking, Jimmyshoved his hand into the pocket of his jeans and threw a handful of itching power into the boy's face.

That was it. Every prep was on his feet, coming for Jimmy. Jimmy began to back away. Somewhere in the crowd, he heard Gary shout that he wanted Jimmy alive.

Jimmy turned and ran as fast as he could. He dropped marbles behind him as he did and heard the satisfying sounds of the Preppies slipping on them. He kept running. Chad Morris tried to get in his way and block the front door. Without breaking stride, Jimmy knocked him over and ran right over him.

He burst through the doors of Harrington House. His legs felt like they would give up at any second and his lungs were breathing fire, but he kept running. He didn't stop until he was back in his dorm room, sitting behind his locked bedroom door with his Spudgun in his hands. After nearly fifteen minutes, when he was convinced that none of the preppies were going to batter down his door and kill him, he dug out his cell phone and dialed Norton Williams's number.

That was close, he thought. Too close.


	22. Confrontation In the Church

One week passed.

For the whole week, Jimmy did nothing but watch the Derby Harrington and Gary. He couldn't trust the Greasers to do it anymore. They became his obsessions. He was sure that they were going to do something, but he had no idea what.

Johnny Vincent got out of the hospital with only a few scars and healing bruises as souvenirs of the beating Jimmy had handed him. The knowledge of what Jimmy had seen at the meeting the week before seemed to be driving him into a violent rage. Fights between the Greasers and Preps augmented, but still, there was no indication that Gary or Derby were going to make any major moves.

Pete got out of the hospital and reluctantly complied with Jimmy's wishes. He and Jimmy barely saw each other, except for at night, since they shared a dorm room. Jimmy saw nothing of Cecellia either. She stayed away from him. Jimmy was glad that she was, but he also felt really lonely since he had no one he could talk to.

Jimmy was beginning to lose his mind, that much was clear to him. He was obsessed with Gary, more obsessed than he'd been the year before, and now he was so much harder to beat. He'd also developed one weird habit: going to church. He never went for services or things like that, but usually, at around eight o'clock, he'd take a walk into the town and just sit in the church for a few hours, praying to a God he didn't believe in for a solution. Things were getting out of hand. The violence at the school was heating up and growing beyond the staff and prefects' control. The police were called frequently, and nearly a dozen students had been hospitalized with wounds. He knew that if something didn't happen, there would be deaths.

Jimmy's new church-going habits didn't supply him with answers, but they did supply him with peace. It was nice to be able just to get away from all the bullshit and relax. It also gave him time to think, think about what he was doing in this situation. He wished his mother would come back and take him away, just so it would be all out of his hands, but he knew there was no chance of that happening.

But something did happen, eventually.

It was Sunday. Jimmy was sitting in the church and looking up at the altar. He wasn't surprised when he heard the front doors open. A lot of people, mostly old women, came to the church in the evening. He still had his eyes on the altar when the person came and sat next to him.

"What are you doing here, Gary?" Jimmy asked, not looking at him.

"I never figured you were a religious person, James." Gary replied.

"Leave me alone," Jimmy spat, still not looking at his adversary. "I come here to relax. The least you can do is give me that."

"I'm not giving you anything, Hopkins. You're lucky you're even alive right now."

Jimmy sighed heavily and sat back, finally looking into Gary's eyes.

"What do you want?"

"You want to end this, right?" Gary asked.

"How many times have you asked me that?"

Gary smiled.

"There's no need for hostility, James. I'm hear to try and work something out."

"Fuck you." Jimmy hissed, and Gary laughed dully.

"That's not proper church language, now is it?"

Jimmy thought about how if they hadn't been in church he would have broken Gary's neck right then and there.

"Look, Gary, you wanna talk? Go ahead and talk."

"You and me, we're gonna settle this."

"What, man to man? We tried that already, remember?"

"No, not man-to-man. I hear you've been getting in real tight with those Greasers."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I'm in really tight with the Preps."

Jimmy just stared at him blankly.

"So?"

"Don't be so dense, Jim. Look, tomorrow, we'll meet on one of the beaches in town. One of the secluded ones, so the cops won't see us. You bring the Greaseballs, I bring the Preps, and we have it out."

"You really expect me to go along with this?"

"I'm giving you a chance to end this, Jimmy, and face it, you're out of options This isyour only choice."

Jimmy's mind was racing. He knew this was a trick. It had to be. There was no way Gary Smith would go along with something like this. But still, Gary had him. This was his only choice.

"Fine," Jimmy said. "When?"

Gary's face lit up, which made Jimmy all the more uneasy.

"Tomorrow at 3 o'clock. Be there, Jimmy, or else you'll regret it."

Then Gary stood up and walked out of the church, leaving Jimmy alone with his troubled thoughts.


	23. Rumble on the Beach

It was a really gray, cold Monday afternoon. The sky was threatening rain and the seas were raging. Jimmy stood on the beach and looked out over the waves crashing rhythmically onto the shore. The sea air was salty and fresh and did good to his smoker's lungs. He was wearing a pair of old blue jeans and a black hoodie, not the best garment to wear to a rumble, but it was cold out. He had a pair of heavy boots on and his all of his fingers save for his thumbs were adorned with heavy rings.

Sighing, Jimmy turned away from the shore and looked into the solemn face of Johnny Vincent.

"Where are they, Jim?" He asked.

Jimmy shrugged.

"How the fuck should I know?"

They weren't coming. That much was clear. Jimmy had been swindled by Gary again. Now he had to worry about whether Gary was going to kill him or Johnny Vincent and his Greasers were as payback for dragging them to this cold deserted beach.

Jimmy was surprised at the number of Greasers Johnny had brought along. There were maybe twenty in all, and most of them brandished makeshift weapons like bicycle chains and pipes. Jimmy was relieved to see no knives or guns. The Greasers were all chatting with each other, obviously getting more and more impatient.

It was fifteen minutes past three. They waited another five minutes and just as Jimmy was about to suggest that they leave, one of the Greasers pointed to the other end of the beach and shouted:

"There! Here they come!"

Jimmy turned to see a wall of blue and khaki approaching them. Only Preppies would wear Aquaberry to a gang fight. Like the Greasers, many of them brandished weapons like bats and sticks. Seeing them approach filled Jimmy with a muddled mix of fear and excitement.

They approached until the two groups were about eight feet apart from each other. Neither side rushed in. They just stared, like wolves about to pounce. Then an egg flew out from the crowd of Preppies and hit Johnny splattering his leather jacket.

That was it. Johnny rushed forward, and all the Greasers followed him. The two groups collided and soon the air was filled the sound of grunting, screaming, and the thick smacks of fist hitting flesh.

Jimmy waded through the crowd of fighters, his eyes searching for Gary. He fought when he had to, but he had no interest in anyone but Gary.

Jimmy was still looking for Gary when something struck him across his shoulder blades, nearly knocking him over. He looked up and saw Derby Harrington standing there, smiling and holding a sawn-off baseball bat.

"You and me, Hopkins." He said, his voice almost inaudible over the sounds of fighting.

Derby swung the bat, and Jimmy ducked away. He swung again and Jimmy caught the bat and jerked it from Derby's grip. He thrust it forward like a spear and jabbed Derby harshly in the stomach with it, knocking the wind out of him. He was about to swing the bat again but then Derby came at him and knocked him down, the bat flying out of his hand.

Derby tried to punch Jimmy, but Jimmy was a lot faster. He hit Derby with a bone cruncher to the face, his rings cutting through the Preppie's skin.

"Not so tough, are you?" Jimmy yelled.

He began to pound Derby's face viciously with both fists. When he was finished, Derby's handsome face was nothing but a mess of sand and blood. He leaned in really close so Derby would be able to hear him.

"You fuck with me again and I'll kill you." Jimmy hissed.

Within minutes, the rumble was over. The Greaser hd stomped the Preppies good. Most of them and run off but a few of them that were in no fit state to run were just writhing bloody in the sand, their designer clothing ruined.

"We showed them," Johnny said, grinning, his face bloody and his eyes already black. "Fuckin' pussies."

Jimmy looked over every single preppie the Greasers had knocked out. Not a single one of them was Gary, and Jimmy knew that Gary hadn't run. He would have stayed and taken him on. He wasn't here.

As if on cue, Jimmy's cell phone rang.


	24. Back at Bullworth

Jimmy could barely believe his eyes. He stood at the gates, his mouth wide open, his brain trying feverishly to make sense of what he was seeing.

Bullworth Academy, the school he'd come to hate so much, was on fire. The fire wasn't too big yet, but it was spreading, and there were no firefighters in sight. Jimmy knew that the whole place would be rubble by the time they got here.

He'd gotten the call from Pete when he was standing on the beach. Pete hadn't told him what was happening, only that he needed to get to the Academy as fast as he could. So he had stolen a bike and peddled until his lungs were on fire, thinking about what Gary could have done this time.

But he hadn't expected this.

Jimmy was so mystified by the sight that he barely noticed the crowd of students that were standing out in front of the school. His heart pounding, he ran forward, his eyes scanning the crowd for Cecellia and Pete. He eventually did find Pete. He was standing with Cecellia's brother Patrick and they were both staring up at the burning school. Both of them looked really pale and scared.

"Pete." Jimmy said, running up to him.

Pete turned and looked almost ready to faint at the sight of him.

"Jimmy, oh, thank God you're here."

"What happened?"

Pete looked down at his shoes.

"I don't know. I was just sitting in class and then the fire alarm went off. I knew it wasn't a drill because I could smell the fire in the air. I just ran out. Gary had something to do with it, I know he did."

Gary had pulled one over on him again. Gary was right, Jimmy thought. He was a sucker.

Jimmy looked around in the crowd.

"Where's Cecellia?" He asked.

Pete whitened even more and said nothing. This time Patrick spoke.

"I don't know. We can't find her anywhere. She's still in the school, Jimmy. I know she is!" Patrick said, and then burst into tears. Pete put a comforting arm around the young boy's shoulders.

Jimmy went cold. Cecellia was still inside, and Gary had something to do with it. Jimmy knew the building wouldn't be standing for much longer.

"I've gotta go in there." Jimmy said.

Pete's eyes widened.

"That's crazy talk, man. You can't go in there. You'll never make it out alive! Let the firefighters handle it."

"The firefighters aren't gonna show up in time, Pete, and Cecellia's going to be dead!" Jimmy shouted.

This revelation only made Patrick cry harder. Pete gave him a black look.

"Jimmy," He said slowly, speaking more clearly than Jimmy had ever heard him speak in his life. "Can't you stop playing hero for once in your life?"

"If I don't go in there and she dies, it'll be my fault, okay? And I can't live with that. I'm going in there."

Jimmy said.

Pete chewed on his lower lip for a moment, then he threw himself at Jimmy, wrapping his arms around him. Jimmy was really taken aback but returned the hug.

"You're my best friend, Jimmy." He said.

"I know."

They broke apart.

"Be careful in there." Pete said.

Jimmy gave him a brief nod, then, after casting a quick glance to make sure none of the staff were watching, he dashed up the steps and through the front doors, hesitating very briefly before running into the lobby.


	25. Facing the Flames

Going into the school was like sinking into a hot bath. Instantly sweat began to course down Jimmy's forehead. The fire hadn't spread to the lobby yet, but it was getting there. The stairs had caught fire, but Jimmy was still able to go up them. He figured he'dcheck outthe second floor first.

It was really strange in the school, not only because it was on fire, but because he knew that Gary was around there somewhere, watching him. He hoped that Gary would burn here, with the fire he'd started.

When he was on the second floor, he went into the Head's office. He ran around the secretary's desk and to the back of then office. He saw thatthere was a figure slumped over in a chair. Crabblesnitch. Jimmy had an eerie flashback of the year before, when Gary had tied Crabblesnitch up in this very office.

"Sir?" Jimmy said, walking forward. "Sir, we have to–"

He stopped in mid-sentence. He saw that Crabblesnitch wasn't tied up at all. He was dead. There was a bloody hole in his forehead. A bullet hole. He'd been shot in the legs and arms several times too.

Jimmy could only stare, open-mouthed. Many times, he'd wished Crabblesnitch dead, but he never would have actually done it. He felt like throwing up.

Cecellia, he thought. He had to save Cecellia.

As much as it creeped him out, Jimmy tooka step towards the headmaster's corpse and closed his eyes two fingers. He wished he could have done more. He'd always hated Crabblesnitch, but no one deserved this.

Jimmy bolted from the office. He looked into every room, but there was no sign of cecellia. His heart was pounding. Gary was lurking around, and he had a gun. Jimmy had never been particularly afraid of dying, but he didn't want to die like Crabblesnitch, shot dead and left to burn. And there was Cecellia to think about. He would deal with Gary once he got her out.

He found her eventually. She was in the Science lab. He saw her through the small window all the classroom doors had. She was sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair. There was a strip of tape on her mouth.

The door was locked, so Jimmy just smashed the window out with his elbow and unlocked it from the inside. It really hurt to do that, but he'd worry about the pain later.

Jimmy picked up one of the glass shards from the broken window and used it to sever the ropes binding Cecellia to her chair. Then he tore the tape away from her mouth. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Oh, Jimmy," She whimpered. "I was so scared."

"I know." Jimmy said, holding her.

"I knew you'd come."

"We need to get out of here. The building's on fire, and Gary's around here with a gun. He killed Crabblesnitch."

Her eyes widened when he said that, but she nodded all the same.

He took hold of her hand and they ran out of the lab. The flames were really raging now. The scent of burning plaster and wood was heavy in the air and pieces of debris from the ceiling were falling. Jimmy knew that the ceiling wouldn't hold for much longer.

They ran, both of them hot and sweaty, until they reached the lobby. Before they couldreach the door, Jimmy heard a strange cracking sound and looked up. A large piece of the ceiling had broken off and was falling right over them.

"Look out!' He yelled, shoving Cecellia out of the way. He dived away as the debris hit the floor and broke into pieces.

Jimmy looked up, ready to grab Cecellia's hand again, but then he was greeted with a terrible sight. Gary had grabbed her. He was holding her by the ponytail and had the huge barrel of an automatic pistol pressed against her temple.


	26. Face Off

There was a look of bitter triumph on Gary's face. He ground the barrel of his pistol hard into the side of Cecellia's face. Even over the sound of the school crumbling all around them, Jimmy could hear the low whimper that escaped her.

"Leave her alone," Jimmy said. The flames were growing hotter and he felt as if he might faint. "Let her go, Gary. This is between me and you!"

"Look at it, Jimmy," Gary said, taking the barrel of his pistol away from Cecellia's head and waving it around the burning lobby. "It's beautiful. Look at all that we've accomplished!"

"We haven't accomplished anything, Gary, you sick fuck!" Jimmy yelled, feeling light-headed. "You're the one who set the school on fire!"

"It's what we've always dreamed of."

"I never wanted any of this! You did all of this just to get me? Destroyed the school, killed Crabblesnitch, did all of this shit, just to get me?"

"Well, Crabblesnitch was just a little bonus. He didn't really deserve to live, the pompous little fuck. You should have seen him beg after I blew off his kneecaps. I let him crawl around his office for awhile before I finally put him out of his misery. It was great, Jimmy. You'd have loved it."

"You make me sick, Gary. What about the school? Was that a little bonus, too?"

"Oh, come off it, James. You're not going to stand there and tell me you never thought of lighting this place up. Ever since the day I met you you've been bitching about this place! That's the difference between you and me, Hopkins. I do things, and you just complain about them! I stepped up and did what you never had the guts to do, you little pussy!"

"Gary, it isn't a matter of having guts, it's a matter of being sick fucking maniac! You're going to jail for this, man, and not juvie this time, either. The real jail, and for a long fucking time, too. Didn't that ever occur to you? You told me yourself you couldn't stand juvie!"

"It doesn't matter what happens to me now, Jimmy. I'll be famous! Everybody in this town, in this state, in this fucking country, is going to know the name Gary Smith!"

"And you're proud of that, are you?"

"It's better than being nothing. Anyway, Jim, this is dragging on. We'd better wrap this up." He shoved the barrel of the gun roughly against the side of Cecellia's temple and twisted her ponytail with his other hand. "I'm gonna put an end to your little bitch here, Jimmy. I just wish I didn't have to do it so soon. I'd have loved to get to know her a little better."

Gary's hand, the one holding Cece's ponytail, drifted forward and grabbed at her breasts. She whimpered again and Jimmy felt a burning heat that didn't have anything to with the fire wash over him.

"How do you want me to do it, James? I can do it right quick and just blow her brains out, or I can take my time. Which would you prefer?":

"Leave her out of this. This is between you and me."

A twisted smile crossed Gary's lips.

"You're the boss, Jim."

He raised the pistol and pulled the trigger. Jimmy felt something strike him in the shoulder and drive him back. He barely heard Cecellia's loud shriek. He tried to keep his balance but failed, falling to the floor.

A harsh numbness spread over Jimmy's shoulder and upper chest. He lifted his other hand and touched it. He felt warm stickiness underneath the shredded fabric of his hoodie.

Gary prepared to shoot Jimmy again, but before he could, Cecellia viciously rammed her elbow into his groin. Gary let out a muffled groan and Cecellia bolted away from him. He tried to shoot her in the back, but his aim was off and the shot went wild. He lost his balance and the pistol flew out of his grip.

"Jimmy!" Cecellia yelled, grabbing hold of the front of his hoodie. "We have to go. Come on!"

With Cecellia's help, Jimmy pulled himself onto his unsteady feet and they fled the hall.


	27. Showdown on the Steps

Outside the Academy, the sky had grown even darker and it had begun to rain. The smell of burning wood, plastic and steel was heavy in the air. The evacuated students and faculty had left the front of the school and were outside the gates. Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Cecellia said. Jimmy, trying to keep from touching the shredded mass of his shoulder, nodded. They began to descend the front steps, but before they could make it to the bottom, the academy doors burst open and Gary stepped out, his face flushed and smeared with ash.

"Leaving so soon, Jimmy? This party's just getting started!" He shrieked, bringing up his pistol.

Jimmy moved to shield Cecellia, but Gary's shot hit the handrail and ricoched, throwing up sparks.

"Cece, run!" Jimmy barked.

"No, Jimmy, you can't!" Just let the cops deal with him!"

"I have to stay!"

"You can't beat him!'

"Just go!" Jimmy yelled. His mind was growing hazy and his sweatshirt was soaked heavy with rainwater and blood.

She was hesitant, but after a moment of consideration, she turned and ran, her ponytail bobbing behind her.

Jimmy turned back to Gary, expecting a bullet to hit him and end his life at any second. Gary still had the pistol up, but his finger was not on the trigger. He wants to toy with me, Jimmy realized. His shoulder had begun to throb like and abscessed tooth. He felt like throwing up and fainting and falling to his knees, all at the same time. He knew that Cecellia was right. He had no chance of beating Gary.

"Gary, just face it, man, you've lost. The cops'll and firemen'll be here any second now. You have to put down your gun and turn yourself over to them. It's the only chance you've got."

"This is it, Jimmy. You and me. Man to man. You wanted a chance to take me down, here it is."

"You've got the gun, Gary. What chance do I have?"

"I've always had the advantage over you, Jimmy." Gary said. Above them, lightning flashed, illuminating Gary's pale, sneering face for one brief moment.

"Don't do this, Gary." Jimmy pleaded.

"Don't beg, Jimmy."

"I'm not begging, you stupid shit! I'm trying to save your fucking life! When the cops get here and see that gun, they'll fill you with so many bullets you'll be lucky if there'll be enough of you to carry away!"

There was a flicker of comprehension on Gary's face. It only lasted a second, then it was gone.

"That may happen, James," Gary said, thumbing down the hammer on his pistol. "But at least I'll take you to hell with me."

Jimmy reacted automatically. Ducking low, he launched himself at Gary. Gary fired and Jimmy felt the round cut through the air inches above his head. He tackled Gary and both of them hit the ground. Gary tried to bring up the gun, but Jimmy pinned his arm to the pavement and pounded it against the ground until Gary's grip loosened and the pistol clattered across the step.

Jimmy began to pound Gary's face with both fists, the adrenaline running through his body masking the pain of his wounds.

"You motherfucker!" He yelled, his fist breaking Gary's nose with a harsh crack. "You burned the school! You stabbed Pete! You killed Crabblesnitch! You hurt Cecellia! I'll fucking kill you!"

He continued to work on Gary's face until his fists throbbed. When he finally stopped, Gary's face was nothing but a mask of blood.

The police and firefighters had arrive at the gates. Jimmy could see two boys in blue running towards them.

"You're finished, Gary." Jimmy said.

Gary used this momentary distraction and rammed his knee into Jimmy's crotch. Jimmy cried out and rolled off of Gary, cupping his wounded testicles.

Gary scrambled to his feet and swept up his pistol. He stood over Jimmy and raised the gun.

"Wrong, you're finished, Jimmy."

Jimmy looked into Gary's bloody, sneering face. The muzzle of the gun stared back at him like a dead eye. This was the end. After all that had happened, Gary was going to kill him on the steps of the school they both hated so much.

"Stop, kid! Put the weapon down!"

Both of them turned to look. Two cops stood at the bottom of the steps, their guns pointed at Gary.

Gary looked back down at Jimmy, an undescribable emotion etched across his face. It looked like he was both surprised and exhilarated.

"Don't do it, Gary," Jimmy pleaded, his voice barely audible over the sound of the rain and the burning school. "Don't do it,"

It all happened in a few seconds.

Gary turned towards the cops, bringing the gun towards them. Jimmy shut his eyes tight and suddenly his ears were deafened as the cops opened fire. He felt something warm and sticky hit his face. He heard Gary's pistol clatter against the ground, followed by a thumping sound as Gary collapsed. He heard his adversary take a hitching, strained breath, another, then no more.

When Jimmy opened his eyes, he saw Gary had crumpled into a sitting position on the Academy's double doors, which were now on fire themselves. There was still a sneer on Gary's face as his glassy, unseeing eyes stared out into the rain. His legs were spread and blood, mixing with the rainwater, was pooling between them, seeping out onto the chipped concrete.

"Oh, Jesus, Gary," Jimmy muttered, surprised to find the sting of tears at his eyes.

Blearily, the head of one of the cops who'd shot Gary swam into his view.

"You okay, kid?" He asked. He sounded very far off.

"No." Jimmy replied truthfully, and blacked out.


	28. Epilogue: Three Weeks Later

The Priest looked uneasy and nervous as he stood in front of the mourners, struggling to find something good to say about Gary Smith. He had more ceremonies to do that day, more burnings, and the sooner he got this one done, the better.

"Gary Smith was a troubled young man. Since his childhood he had anti-social tendencies that worsened over the years until he was driven to commit the unsavory acts that lead to his demise. But if we could, I'm sure we'd like to remember Gary as a child, young and innocent. May God have mercy on his soul."

The Priest turned to Gary's body, which was wrapped in a body bag, and signed a cross on himself. He then hit the switch that sent Gary's body into the incinerator attached to the small chapel. Within minutes, Gary's body was no more.

Jimmy Hopkins and Pete Kowalski, both of them dressed in frayed suits, watched this from the second row of seats. Jimmy felt nothing as he watched his nemesis's corpse get cremated. He only felt some mingled sense of regret.

Three weeks had passed since the incident at Bullworth. The fire had eventually been contained, but not soon enough. More than half of the school had been destroyed. No one, except for Dr. Crabblesnitch, had died. Jimmy had spent a week in the hospital, stuck in some strange delirium. He was treated for minor burns, smoke inhalation, a broken finger, lacerations, and a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He slept for most of the time, occasionally mumbling or screaming for Gary to put the gun down. He was only awake when Cecellia or Pete were visiting him , and when the cops came and interviewed him.

After a week he'd gotten out. His wounds had healed up okay, but his arm was still in a sling. The authorities had tried to contact his mother, but they hadn't had any luck. That was okay with him. He just stayed in the Hotel the remaining Bullworth students who had nowhere else to go were staying in with Pete, trying to forget everything that had happened.

Jimmy noted the other people who had come to the funeral. A few of the students who had nothing else to do that day, a few of the teachers, Gary's Probation Officer, Gary's old psychiatrist, and woman Jimmy didn't know. He'd never seen her before, but Jimmy was pretty sure he knew who she was. She resembled Gary in more than a few ways.

Looking at her made Jimmy feel sad. After Gary's death, he'd never thought about the fact that he might have a mother, a family, people who cared for him, and how they'd feel when they heard the news.

After the body was cremated and the Priest left the Chapel, everyone started getting up to leave. Jimmy and Pete did the same. Jimmy considered going over to say something to Gary's mother, but he knew that would do more harm than good.

They stepped out into the bright sunlight, momentarily blinded.

"You wanna go back to the hotel?" Jimmy asked.

"Not yet." Pete said. "I think someone's here to see you."

He was right. A car had pulled up to the chapel and out stepped Cecellia, looking as beautiful as ever. Jimmy could see Cecellia's parents and Patrick in the car.

"I'll be right back." Jimmy told Pete, and then he walked over to Cecellia.

"Hey." She said.

"Hi."

"How was the funeral?"

Jimmy shrugged.

"A funeral's a funeral, you know?"

"How's the arm?"

"It's okay." Jimmy said, even though it really wasn't. It still hurt like a son of a bitch every time he moved.

Cecellia had been down to see Jimmy a few times when he was in the hospital, and even though he'd been too whacked out on painkillers and everything else they were pumping into him to have a normal conversation, he was glad that she came. He still wanted her, still loved her.

"I'm moving," She said. "My dad was transferred."

Jimmy was surprised that this revelation didn't really hurt him as much as he'd expected it to. He knew all along that they wouldn't be able to continue their relationship after what had happened, although he'd always hoped, somewhere in the back of his mind, that they would.

"That's good," Jimmy said. "I'm happy for you."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy."

"Don't be."

She moved forward and hugged him, mindful of his wounded shoulder and sling.

"Thank you for saving my life, Jimmy," She whispered. "I'll never forget you."

Then she kissed him. He never wanted that kiss to end, but it did. She broke away from him, smiled and then turned away. She went back into the car and she and Patrick both waved at him as they drove off and out of Jimmy's life.

Jimmy just stood there, watching the car in the distance, until he felt Pete's hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, man." He said.

"I loved her, Pete, you know that? In really loved her."

Pete just nodded sagely. No words passed between them, but they understood each other. Together, walking slowly, they started back towards the hotel.

The End


	29. Author's Note

The characters and places in the preceding work are all the property of Rockstar Games, with the exception of Cecellia and Patrick Morris, who were created by the author.

Well, that's the end. I don't normally write fanfiction, so this was a change of pace for me. I probably wouldn't have taken it past the first few chapters, but then I started getting reviews, so I figured I at least owed it to my readers to finish it. I hope you enjoyed it. I tried to keep as true to the original source material as I could, but I did make a few stylistic deviations, such as making Jimmy an occasional smoker and drug user. These were just little touches than can be found in my other work so I figured I'd put them in.

I guess I should give you all a few extra bits of trivia about Dog Eat Dog. When I first conceived the story, Cecellia was a redhead, but then I remembered that Zoe was a redhead, so I changed her to a blonde. Also, when Jimmy was set up by Gary in the tenements in the chapter 'Trapped', Patrick was supposed to be present and eventually stabbed by Gary, as opposed to Pete. My original version also had a different ending, in which Cecellia was shot dead by Gary, who was then arrested, with the final scene taking place at Cecellia's funeral. But I wanted there to be a bittersweet goodbye scene between Jimmy and Cecellia, so I changed it to Cece living and Gary committing suicide by cop.

So with all that done, I'd like to thank my reviewers, especially Raigo and Spedclass, who's reviews kept me going. I'd also like to thank Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, which supplied me with information about Bully when I needed it. Above all else, I'd like to thank Rockstar, who's superb creation Bully kept me entertained for hours on end. (And this is coming from someone who doesn't play video games much.)

One last thing: If you enjoyed Dog Eat Dog, be sure to check out my Fictionpress account, the link to which can be found in my profile.

Much love, Evan Raufbold.


End file.
